When cultivating plants, it is usual to use a receptacle, in which a seed is planted to strike root and grow into a plant. When the plant has reached sufficient size, it is transplanted to the desired location. What must be transplanted is the plant together with a lump of soil, which can be quite loose. For this reason it is cumbersome to cultivate plants in the described way.
The object of the present invention is to create a device where a seed is placed in a soil receptacle and then allowed to grow into a plant. In accordance with the invention, the procedure is to employ a cavity with any desired cross section that diminishes in size from top to bottom, which cavity is provided with a movable bottom. This cavity is filled with soil and, thereafter, a seed is added to the soil and, when the seed has rooted itself sufficiently and a sufficiently large plant has been obtained, the bottom is displaced upwards in the conical cavity. This results in a plant with a conical lump of soil that is firm being obtained, which can easily be gripped with one hand and relocated to the place where it is to be transplanted. A hood can be placed above a cavity with plant to ensure sufficient humidity for the plant and, furthermore, the unit containing the cavity can be placed in a receptacle to which water is supplied. Moist soil is thus obtained and, further, a greenhouse effect is obtained by means of the hood. The hood can then be turned and re-lifted, thereby providing aeration. In practical terms, the present invention consists of three parts, including a part termed a depression part, which comprises a number of through-running holes. This depression part co-operates with a bottom part, into which the depression part can be lowered, the bottom part having units that can form bottoms in the through-running holes. The bottom part, which is in the form of a receptacle, and the depression part are movable relative to each other. This means that, in a first position, the unit of the bottom part forms the bottom of a depression and, in another position, the unit is inserted inside a depression displacing the unit formed in the depression. The relative mobility between the depression part and the bottom part is achieved by stop means that are constructed in such a way that the two parts can assume two different positions in relation to each other. In the one instance, the unit forms the bottom and, in the other instance, the unit is inserted inside a depression.
When the two parts are united, liquid can be supplied to the bottom part so that substantial auto-irrigation is achieved.
Moreover, in accordance with the invention, a hood can be placed on top of the depression part. With the aid of the hood, a greenhouse effect is achieved above the depression part. In accordance with a favourable embodiment of the invention, the bottom part, as well as the depression part, is parallelepipedic. In connection therewith, the hood can be provided with penetration members on its topside, which penetration members are equal in number to the depressions in the depression part. When the depressions are filled with soil or another suitable substance, the hood can be turned over and the penetration members can thus create penetrations in the soil to facilitate the addition of seeds to the soil. The penetration members additionally co-operate with cavities on the underside of the base of the bottom part, so that the unit consisting of bottom part, depression part and hood can be stacked above another unit, thus facilitating the cultivation of plants when only a small space is available. Regarding the depression part, it is suitable for it to consist of a solid body provided with holes. Of course, the three parts that form part of a device for cultivating plants can have any suitable shape whatsoever. Thus, for instance, the parts can be cylindrical, have an elliptical cross section or have a triangular cross section.
Further characteristics of the present invention are disclosed in the claims set out below.